The push for electric vehicles is on the rise. GM recently announced that it was planning to release at least 20 electric cars by 2023. Likewise, Ford is now making the push for more electric SUVs and trucks.
Ford Motor Company’s new CEO Jim Hackett on Tuesday announced that the company will invest more funds in development for new electric vehicles, all the while cutting funds spent on cars and internal combustion engines.
Hackett was formally the head of Ford Smart Mobility and is now the president and CEO since May of this year. He has spent the last four months evaluating the best course of action for Ford. Hackett came to the conclusion that while Ford is still a leader, the company is lagging behind rivals such as General Motors when talking about autonomous technologies.
“When you’re a long-lived company that has had success over multiple decades the decision to change is not easy – culturally or operationally,” Hackett said Tuesday in a news release. “Ultimately, though, we must accept the virtues that brought us success over the past century are really no guarantee of future success.”
According to the presentation, Ford will now turn its focus to “smart and connected” vehicles that will, “thrive in a new transportation operating system.” In addition, the company says they will be offering internet connectivity to all of its US-bound models by 2019 and 90 percent of its vehicles sold worldwide by 2020.
